Tappet gauge



Apr@ Z8, E936. y. A. CHYBA 279389924 TAPPET GAUGE origial Filed Jan. 29, 1934 Patented Apr. 28, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application January Z9, 1934, Serial No. 708,871 Renewed January 22, 1936 7 Claims.

This invention relates to a valve stem fitting device, or tappet gauge, and has for its object the production of a simple and efficient valve stem iitting device which will permit of the accurate and proper tting of a valve stem in relation to the valve tappet and permit the proper length of the stem to be ascertained for the purpose of a proper fitting.

l A further object of this invention is the production of a simple and elilcient valve stem litting iixture or device which is so constructed as to permit a workman to easily, quickly, and accurately ascertain the proper length of the valve stem after the valve seat has been ground so as to permit the stem to be properly shortened to allow the Valve to t snugly upon the seat and also properly contact with the valve tappet.

A still further object of this invention is the production of a simple and eflicient means for permitting the adjustment of the valve stem iitting fixture so as to provide for a proper measuring of the diameter of the valve seat thereby permitting of a more accurate measurement of the stem when the valve and valve `stern are placed in the measuring casing or fitting fixture.

Further objects and radvantages of the present invention will appear throughout the following specification and claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side `elevation partly in section illustrating the gauging means for determining the length of the valve stem;

Figure 2 is a side elevation partly in section of the valve iitting fixture with the gauging means 35 in place to properly set the valve fitting fixture for the accurate length of the valve stem;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the adjusting block carried by the gauging means;

Figure 4 is a section taken on line 4--4 or 40 Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view of the valve stem fitting fixture showing the valve in position for proper measuring;V

Figure 6 is a section taken on line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the upper valve end engaging portion of the tting xture showing the manner in which the upper edge of the iixture contacts with the valve seat engaging periphery of the valve;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the valve engaging portion of the fitting iixture;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the expanding Plug;

Figure 10 is a fragmentary side elevation of a portion of the shank of the fitting fixture showing the mounting of the hand engaging pin extending transversely through the shank; and

Figure 11 is a side elevation of a portion of the lower Iend of the shank of the tting xture showing the manner in which the lower end of the valve stem contacts with the upper end of the threaded graduated measuring screw.

In grinding the valve of an engine, very often the seat of the valve is ground and the valve and valve stem are placed in position without an attempt at adjusting the proper length of the valve stem. This will prevent the proper seating of the valve upon its seat. When an attempt is made to grind the lower end of the valve stem to permit of a proper seating, quite a length of time is generally involved and even then the proper seating of the valve is largely a matter of guess-work, or involves a long period of experimentation. Consequently, I have devised the present fitting xture which will permit, rst, of the proper measurement of the distance from the valve seat to the upper end of the valve tappet and then permit an operator or mechanic to place the gauging means within a suitable tem-V plate or measuring casing which may be properly adjusted to determine accurately the exact amount of metal to be cut off from the lower end of the valve stem. The structure employed for accomplishing this purpose is described as fol-` lovvsr-Wherein I5 designates the stem of the gauging means which comprises an elongated circular rod extending through the bushing block IG and contacts at its lower end with the valve tappet I1. An adjusting head block I8 preferably of a circular formation is adjustably mounted upon the stem I5 and may be locked in a properly adjusted position by means of a thumb screw I9 which extends through the head I8 and may be forced into binding engagement with the stem I 5 for locking the head I8 against movement. The lower end of the head I8 is slightly reduced as indicated at 20, and is provided also with a plurality of radially extending web portions 2I which are provided with inclined faces 22, the inclined faces extending at an angle upwardly and out-- wardly from the lower edge of the reduced end 20 to the side wall of the head I8, as shown in Figure l. These inclined faces 22 are preferably arranged at a proper angle to iit snugly upon the valve seat 23 which has been ground. 'I'hese web portions 2| are preferably relatively thin so as to provide a relatively thin valve seat engaging face so that the operator may readily ascertain Whether or not the inclined faces 22 of the web`- inverted conical valve receiving casing 33.

portions 2| are in snug contact with the face of the valve seat in order that a very accurate measurement might be obtained. 'I'his structure will avoid the di'iculty of obtaining an inaccurate measurement which would be caused if a flat face rested upon the valve seat and should some foreign particles support the edge of the head I8 slightly above the face of the seat. By having these relatively narrow webs, the mechanic can easily determine whether or not a proper contact takes place between the inclined faces 22 and the valve seat 23. When the gauging means, illustrated particularly in Figure l, has been properly mounted and properly adjusted so as to have the inclined faces 22 rmly fitted upon the valve seat 23, the screw I9 is tightened and the mechanic then has obtained the proper distance between the valve seat and the upper end of the valve tappet I1.

In conjunction with the gauging means previously described, it is essential that some means be employed in conjunction therewith for ascertaining the amount of cutting which is to be done or grinding which is to be done at the lower end of the valve stem. For this purpose, I have devised an especially constructed tting xture or template which comprises an elongated hollow shank 24, which elongated hollow shank 24 is provided at its lower end with an internally threaded portion or thimble 25 above which, in diametrically arranged relation, are provided a pair of peep-openings 26 which are preferably of suicient length to allow the operator to see into the interior of the shank 24 as well as to permit the entrance of his finger for the purpose of feeling whether or not a proper contact is provided With the lower end of the valve stem as will be hereinafter more fully described. An externally threaded measuring screw 21 is threaded into the internally threaded thimble 25 and is provided with an enlarged knurled head 28 at its lower end to facilitate the rotation of the screw 21 to a proper adjusted position. This screw is preferably provided with forty threads per inch, and is also provided with an unthreaded portion 29 at its upper or inner end, which Unthreaded portion along its side wall and near its inner or upper extremity is provided with twenty-five graduations extending longitudinally of the screw and relatively short so as to permit the reading of the adjustment in one-thousandths of an inch. Each graduation will indicate one one-thousandth of an inch, and the measurement is obtained by sighting these graduations against one of the side Walls 3l of the peep-openings 2B. A thumb locking nut 32 is mounted upon the screw 21 and is adapted to contact with the lower end of the thimble portion 25 to lock the screw 21 in a set position after it has once been properly adjusted to provide a snug contact with the lower end of the gauging stem I5, such as is shown in the position illustrated in Figure 2.

The upper end of the shank 24V is sweat-soldered or otherwise firmly secured within the lower reduced end or skirt 32 of the substantially This casing 33 is flared outwardly from the skirt 32 toward its outer end to provide an inverted conical casing and this casing is preferably split longitudinally from its outer end to a point of junction between the skirt 32 and the substantially inverted cone-shaped casing, the longitudinally extending slots being indicated by the numeral 34. The inner face of this inverted conical casing 33 is internally threaded, as indicated at 35,

and an expanding plug 36 is threaded into the casing 33 for the purpose of expanding the outer edge of the casing to the desired diameter. The outer face of the skirt portion 33 is externally threaded, as indicated at 31, and a knurled nut or cap 38 is threaded upon this skirt portion 32 and is provided with a beveled socket 39 for fitting snugly against the inclined walls of the casing 33 and firmly binding and holding the casing 33 in its properly expanded position after once having been expanded to the desired circumference by forcing the threaded wedging plug 36 inwardly within the casing 33. The outer end of the casing 33 is provided with a slightly inturned beaded portion` 40 to fit snugly against the valve seat engaging face 4I of the valve 42, as shown in Figure 7, so as to provide a snug and eicient contact with the valve seat engaging face of the valve and to permit of a proper registration from this face. In this way, a very accurate measurement may be obtained to permit of a proper seating of the valve. In many instances, it has been found that the average owner of an engine or the operator of the small garage, will merely grind the valve seats and will not face olf the valves thereby leaving a hollow groove in the valve seat engaging edge of the valve head, as is illustrated in Figure 7. Consequently, this slightly inturned bead will permit of a proper measurement to be made even though the head of the valve carried by the stem has not been ground.

The operation of the device is as followsz The gauging means illustrated in Figure 1, is

applied to the valve seat after it has been ground,

YAfter the proper measurements have beenobtained, the valve stem 45 may be placed within the casing 24 as shown in Figure 5, and the screw 21 may then be adjusted So as to cause the edges of the valve head 46, shown in Figure 5, to contact with the inturned bead portion 40 of the casing 33. The operator, by watching the graduations 30 and counting these graduations as the screw 21 is turned to permit of a proper contact of the valve head 4G with the bead 4B and the lower end of the stem 45 with the upper end of the screw 21, can accurately ascertain the amount of grinding necessary and the amount of material to be taken olf from the lower end of the stem 45, thereby assuring a proper t and a proper adjustment of the valve. In some types of motors, which are now commonly used, there is no way of obtaining the proper adjustment except by the proper lengthening of the valve stem after the valve seat has been ground and the present invention is for the purpose of correcting this difficulty. The operator may, by feeling along the lower end of the valve stem and the upper end of the screw 21, ascertain whether or not a complete flush contact is obtained between the upper end of the screw 21 and the lower end of the valve stern 45 and a proper grinding may then take place to provide this proper flush It should be understood that certain detail changes in the mechanical construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention so long as such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A device of the class described comprising an elongated casing having a ared substantially inverted coneshaped outer end, said outer end being longitudinally slotted to permit of the expansion and contraction thereof, an expanding wedging means inserted within said coneshaped end, and binding means engaging the outer face of said cone-shaped end for holding said end in proper expanded adjusted position.

2. A device of the class described comprising a template embodying an elongated shank, said shank supporting a substantially inverted coneshaped casing at its outer end, said casing having a depending externally threaded skirt, said casing being slotted longitudinally at its outer end to permit of the expansion and contraction of the casing, a wedging threaded screw tting within the interior of said casing, said casing being internally threaded for receiving said wedging screw, and a binding cap threaded upon said skirt and having a tapering socket within which said casing ts for firmly binding and locking the casing in a set expanding position.

3. A device of the class described comprising a template embodying an elongated shank, said shank supporting a substantially inverted coneshaped casing at its outer end, said casing having a depending externally threaded skirt, said casing being slotted longitudinally at its outer end to permit of the expansion and contraction of the casing a wedging threaded screw fitting within the interior of said casing, said casing being internally threaded for receiving said wedging screw, a binding cap threaded upon said skirt and having a tapering socket within which said casing fits for iirmly binding and locking the casing in a set expanding position, and a removable pin extending through. said shank for facilitating the holding of the shank while said cap is being rotated for locking the casing in a set expanded position.

4. A device of the class described comprising a casing having an outwardly ared end to form a seat for a tappet valve, said flared end being adjustable to regulate the diameter thereof, and means for expanding and contracting said ared end.

5. A device of the class described comprising a casing having an outwardly flared end to form a seat for a tappet valve, said ilared end being adjustable to regulate the diameter thereof, means for expanding and contracting said flared end, and means for locking said flared end in an adjusted positon.

6. A device of the class described comprising a template means having a valve engaging portion, and an adjustable screw at its lower end for contact with the lower end of a valve stern, means on said adjustable screw for indicating the extent of the adjustment of the screw, and said template means having an opening adjacent said screw to permit of the proper sighting and feeling of the contact between the lower end of the valve stem and said adjustable screw.

7. A device of the class described comprising a template means having a valve engaging portion, and an adjustable screw at its lower end for contact with the lower end of a valve stem, means on said adjustable screw for indicating the extent of the adjustment of the screw, said ltemplate means having an opening adjacent said screw to permit of the proper sighting and feeling of the Contact between the lower end o the valve stem and said adjustable screw, and means for locking said adjustable screw after said screw has been adjusted.

JOSEPH A. CHYBA. 

